In 1994 my wife and I were completing 8 years of full time ministry. I had served as a youth pastor for 3 years, and had traveled full time as a revivalist for 5 years. Little did I realize how the experiences of those five years on the field, travelling from church to church, & town to town, would shape me and create my concept of ministry for the pioneer work we would begin in 1995.
It all began with our driveway.
We purchased a house on Overlook Drive here in Macon, only to realize on our first night's stay that our house was the neighborhood bus stop. Our sellers conveniently left that out of the listing.
As time passed we would give out pop-tarts and afternoon snacks building relationships with the kids. One particular day a boy asked me when he could go to church with me. After checking my calendar I told him almost 2 months. When I told him I could not take him to church, something inside me snapped. It seemed so wrong to tell someone I could not take them to church, so that I could go preach somewhere else. Anyway, that's how it happened. I cancelled my next week service, and all of the ones in 1995. I felt the Lord was speaking to me through the need of this child, that His current will for me was to start a church in my hometown catering to the unchurched. So on February 5th, 1995 our first service was held in Executive Park North and by month's end we were averaging about 40 on Sunday a.m., 20 on Sunday night, and wondering "what?" at our midweek service.
Our rent was $3,000 a month, we had borrowed $20,000 for sound equipment, chairs, remodeling, office furniture, and countless other miscellaneous items necessary when starting from scratch. It was in these humble beginnings we learned the importance of "all in", the location our "true source", and the excitement of "walking on water".
God was, is, and shall be all we need to be and do all that He has planned. His faithfulness has far surpassed our need, our effort, and our prayers. He is all He has promised and more.
Staying 2 years at the office park we had grown to approximately 150 people and needed a new home giving us space to grow. God supplied that need by providing the Evangel A/G building on Edna Place. This facility was home for the next 3 years, and we saw our church grow to almost 500 people, 1/3 of which were kids. God was revealing to us early on who He had destined us to be:
A lighthouse for the lost, a home built just for kids, and an oasis for the wounded and hungry.
It was after this that God did the greatest miracle to date. We were out of space again, and could not come to an agreement with our landlord, so we were month to month unsure of our future. You can pick up 100 or so people and move, but 500 is a logistical nightmare. Our neighbors across the street, Second Baptist Church, were in a period of transition and were currently without staff. We offered to come over and bring the whole enchilada for Sunday a.m. service, Kidz Church, 3-5 year olds, nursery, Sunday School, etc., and continued to have Sunday night service at our current facility. Well the unimaginable happened. We like each other. I know Assembly of God folk ain't supposed to be diluted by no Baptist, AND good Baptist aren't supposed to open the flood gate of fanaticism by fellowshipping with no pentecostals. But the strangest thing happened, the crowds kept getting bigger. Every Sunday for 3 months straight we saw people born again right in front of our
eyes. This was the first of many confirmations.
When we first came across the street it was so great to go back to one service, but within just a couple of months, it was back to two, and now we had a dilemma. We didn't like being across the street at night. It felt as if we were separating because of who we were, not because of who God was making us to be.
The leadership of Second Baptist and I began to discuss the REMOTE possibility of coming together as one. In the first of 5 meetings with the Second Baptist congregation we spoke only of the negatives of bringing the two churches together, and what it would cost to begin blending the two.
I was amazed at the maturity, and the leadership exemplified in these meetings. Concerns were not:
1. What will we be called?
2. What denominational affiliation will we have?
3. What will those outside the walls of our fellowship think?
But instead: "Let us fast and pray and make sure we are in His perfect Will, if He wants us together it will happen, if He does not, it is not an option.
So both churches began to pray that God would close the door as we inched towards it. Two years, and 5 business meetings later, we felt assured that this was God's plan. Five unanimous church votes, and an overwhelming witness of His Spirit gave us the go-ahead to bring our churches together.
In May 2001, each church supplied the missing link to the other one and Christ Chapel and Second Baptist became one. A 130 year old Baptist church with a wonderful history of sacrifice, service, labor, and love joined hands with a 6 year old wannabe, and brought the experience, wisdom, and nurturing element which is so vital to longevity.
It is to this core of believers that I state again how honored we are to embrace the baton of ministry that so many heroes of the faith have ran with before, and run the race with you and all that you have entrusted to us.
It was never our goal to join churches. From the Second Baptist side, or from the Christ Chapel side, but it was our goal to be in His Will and He changed our goals. And I am so glad He did. I cannot imagine us without the other. I could not go back, the void would be too great.
Since 2001 we have grown to approximately 900 people, 1/3 of which are under the age of 21. The majority of our church drives 30 minutes or longer to our fellowship.
At the ten year mark of our church God did something amazing. Our little church of humble beginnings built on the rich legacy of Second Baptist moved to the SportsTowne building in north Macon. A place in the opposite direction we always thought we would head, and multiple millions more than we could afford given to us by the power of God’s hand. Christ Chapel @ SportsTowne was above all we could ask or think, but what about Warner Robins?
We sold the Second Baptist building and moved into SportsTowne losing only handfuls of people with the northward move. We had 150 – 200 people driving still from Warner Robins, but longing to bring the authentic environment of Christ Chapel to their communities. So, we prayed! We looked at buildings in Warner Robins, and talked about all the ways we could bring a church to that area. Store front buildings, vacant restaurants, any place we could worship. There were so many things that made a Warner Robins church impossible. There was not enough money to buy or build, and not enough people to work. But God would not remove the burden or the quiet nudging.
One day the phone rang. Our staff was on a prayer retreat when Pastor Chuck Morris of Faith Assembly of God called asking to meet upon my return. Andy King who had served Christ Chapel as an Executive Pastor since the second year of the church, and who had been the youth pastor at Faith Assembly years earlier accompanied me to the meeting. Pastor Morris simply stated he was retiring feeling his season had passed, and had sought God’s will for his church. He went on to say God had spoken clearly to him to had the baton of all he’d built over to Christ Chapel. Humbled at the offer we began to process of merging for a second time.
Then came the difficult challenge of discerning God’s will for the big question, HOW? One church on two locations was the answer as best we could discern. Then we had to process what that meant. We became one church family, with one church staff, that worshiped in two locations. Christ Chapel @ Warner Robins was born on March 16th of 2007. From the beginning we met quarterly all together. We just thought that if God had created this very unique way of building the Kingdom, we should celebrate it.
What felt like moments after the kickoff of Warner Robins God presented us with two separate home group type churches that came to see what Christ Chapel was all about. At our very first combined service with the Macon and Warner Robins churches these two groups of the people sat in the worship service. Little did we all know that not one, but both would turn into our next pioneer efforts.
In August Christ Chapel @ Dublin began to hold services in the Dublin TraveLodge Conference Center. Then in October Christ Chapel @ Cochran held their grand opening. One church on four locations in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Who we are:
We are definitely a mutt; but they say that, "mutts make the best dogs!".
Well we kind of view ourselves like that. A lot of good people make up our diverse mix.
With almost every denomination represented, unchurched, independent, and non-everything, we have embraced and now celebrate our differences under the canopy of God's grace.
We do not define ourselves as Pentecostal though we believe in and desire all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
We do not want to be called a word church, even though the Bible is the foundation of our individual and corporate lives.
We are not a praise church, although you can sense God's presence the moment our song is lifted.
We are His body. Nothing more, nothing less. We choose not to be defined by an expression of the body, our identity comes from our Father. We are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh, blemishes and all. And it is our desire to look like Him, act like Him, and represent Him here in the middle Georgia area.
What we believe:
We believe that the bible is the inspired, revealed, perfect Will of God. It is to be taken as it is written. But we are not the enforcers, or the judges of others.
We are the ambassadors of Christ, the proclaimers of the Good News of the gospel of grace. Evangelism is our mandate, Love is our vehicle, and His Spirit is our enabling.
Love God, Love People, and He will build His church.
So there are the highlights, we are just regular people, who have found a home together, and you can feel it in the air the moment you walk in that there is something different here:
His Favor.
So come on by, spend a Sunday with us, and maybe you too may find this place to be just what you were looking for.
see ya soon,
John